Accepted Duke ED, but no Financial Aid.

Paying for College
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<p>So I was accepted into Duke ED, and absolutely thrilled! However, yesterday I received my financial aid package...and the excitement turned into depression.</p>

<p>Apparently, my parents received $25,000 from the IRA this year due to my Dad not being paid for a period of time, and with this included in my family income I do not qualify for any need-based financial aid. This means all they had for me was the $5,500 unsubsidized loan I could take out, and my parents would have to pay the other $48,000 of the estimated $53,000 annual budget.</p>

<p>My family income bracket is $150-200k, but we are currently $10,000 in debt. They suggested that if the $25,000 IRA distribution was a one-time thing (which it was), that I explain this when I submit the IDOC in the spring. However, I'm supposed to commit to Duke in the next few weeks, and there is no way that my family can afford almost ~$50,000 a year.</p>

<p>I really want to go to Duke, so what should I do?!</p>

<p>I redid the College Board EFC calculator, and here are the results:</p>

<p>Parents' Contribution for Student = $ 27,440
Student's Contribution = $ 2,500</p>

<p>Total Estimated IM Contribution = $ 29,940</p>

<p>Did my Dad's IRA withdrawal (which was one time and because he wasn't getting paid for 6 weeks) really stop me from receiving any aid?</p>

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<p>Your dad’s IRA withdrawal added to your family income for the year, so yes, it did increase your income and reduce your aid…by a bit. BUT in my opinion, your family’s income between $150,000 and $200,000 a year was the larger item that kept your financial aid lower. Let’s take the lower end of that for an example. General guestimating of the family contribution is between 1/4 and 1/3 of the family’s GROSS income. On an income of $150,000, that would be between $37,000 and $49,000 a year…or so. In other words your family would probably be expected to pay somewhere between those amounts for you to attend college each year with an income of $150,000. </p>

<p>The financial aid calculations do NOT take consumer debt into consideration at all…unless it is for something like unusual medical expenses. </p>

<p>I guess I wonder…with a family income between $150,000 and $200,000 a year, how much need based aid did you think you would be getting from Duke?</p>

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<p>Yes, I suppose 1/4 or more of a family’s income is a reasonable amount for the EFC…if you are attending a public university. However, a university like Duke, with a substantial endowment, has a tendency to expect an EFC around or lower than that of the College Board’s IM calculator. I’ve talked to others who were accepted and are receiving generous aid for their income bracket.</p>

<p>I understand that I shouldn’t be expecting a full ride or anywhere even close, but I’m not quite sure how my family could manage to pay $50,000 a year when we live paycheck to paycheck-with my mom’s going towards the mortgage and my dad’s going towards other bills and cost of living expenses.</p>

<p>I appreciate your help, it’s just very frustrating.</p>

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<p>I’m not sure I agree with you on the above. </p>

<p>At this point, you need to contact the financial aid folks at Duke to find out what to do in response to your ED situation. Clearly, waiting until the spring isn’t going to work for you. </p>

<p>Still…I would be very surprised if they increased your aid based on what you have posted here. </p>

<p>In any event, you won’t know unless you ask. So it’s worth a try.</p>

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<p>Bluedevil,
Are the people receiving generous aide for their income bracket in the same bracket as your parents?</p>

<p>Paycheck to paycheck is difficult, but it is hard for most to imagine that scenario when the family income is between 150 thou and 200 thou, sorry to say that, but it is true.</p>

<p>Did you mean your family is in debt of $100,000 not the $10,000 you posted?</p>

<p>At anyrate, EFC doesn’t care about personal debt or living beyond one’s means for whatever reason. The exceptions would be medical bills that aren’t covered by insurance and some other extenuating circumstances.</p>

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<p>Also, Duke is known for being stingy, so I am not sure why you are saying you understand EFC (and the 1/4 aspect) for public universities, but not Duke.</p>

<p>A friend’s son knew Duke was a long shot …not to get in, but for financial reasons. So didn’t apply ED there. In the end was able to choose between Duke’s diddly aide, and a similarly selective school that had very good merit aide.</p>

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<p>BDD:</p>

<p>I suggest you go back to the calculator bcos the numbers don’t pass the smell test. In general, $150+k W2 income rules out most need-based grant aid, unless you have multiple kids in college or have a lot of medical expenses. At $200k, you can forget about it. Personal debt does not count, sorry. </p>

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<p>Why? Did they tell you that? (Hint: How they spend it is up to them.)</p>

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<p>I am pretty shocked you’d expect need-based aid at all at that income level. I mean, I know Harvard does it… but, really, that’s a lot of money.</p>

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<p>With a family income bracket that high, even taking off the IRA distribution is not going to lower your EFC a whole lot. Your family just makes a lot of money, and in this country we see it as a family’s responsibility primarily to pay for their children’s education beyond high school for whatever reason. Like Thumper said, how much debt your parents are in doesn’t matter because most financial aid calculations don’t include that.</p>

<p>EFC calculations are the same regardless - they’re based on the FAFSA, and the PROFILE if you had to do one. Your EFC won’t be lower or higher based on the school you go to; what they <em>offer</em> you may differ. But honestly, with a family income of $150-200K, you should be surprised if they offer you anything beyond the unsubsidized Stafford loan and maybe an institutional scholarship of $3,000 or less.</p>

<p>I think you put some wonky numbers into the EFC calculator, too. My family of 5 had an income of about $60,000-$70,000 a year when I entered college, and my EFC was $18,900. I find it hard to believe that a family that makes about three times what my family made would only be expected to pay about $10,000 more per year - it doesn’t make sense.</p>

<p>I find it kind of hard to believe that a family that makes $150,000 a year lives “paycheck to paycheck” unless your family’s held assets are way too expensive and they are living beyond their means. I make less than $30,000 a year in NYC and I don’t live paycheck to paycheck. At $150-200K we’re looking at a monthly income of $12500-$16000+ per month. I wouldn’t know what to DO with $12,500 per month.</p>

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<p>"I redid the College Board EFC calculator, and here are the results:</p>

<p>Parents’ Contribution for Student = $ 27,440
Student’s Contribution = $ 2,500</p>

<p>Total Estimated IM Contribution = $ 29,940"</p>

<p>That doesn’t seem right (Although I can believe the paycheck to paycheck part… but let’s not go there…). Our income is a little higher, but our EEC was quite a bit more than Dukes COA .No matter what folks say here, it’s a big bill, but it’s supposed to be paid from savings AND current income, +/- loans.</p>

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<p>That is incorrect. Colleges calculate efc based on their own criteria, even those that belong to the 568 club. For example, Stanford caps home equity at xx. Other colleges may cap it at yy, or not at all. So, yes, EFC can and will differ, even among top colleges.</p>

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<p>I am not sure what your family’s situation is nor what you expected to pay; if your family can afford the EFC you posted, then look for a school closer to that price range.</p>

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<p>This is a perfect example of why you NEVER apply ED if there is even a small chance that finances can be an issue. </p>

<p>OP your parents make a lot of money. To think any school would give you need-based aid was naive at best. You need to beg to get out of the ED agreement and fund a cheaper public.</p>

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<p>hey bluedevil, i’ve got a S at duke. agree with folks suggesting you contact the finaid office. your offer should clearly state what they calculated as your parent and student contribution. double check the info you gave duke via fafsa and profile against the info you’re entering in the efc calculator. that calculator’s pretty close in my experience. so you might have mis-typed something. </p>

<p>unfortunately, much of what your hearing here is true. it’s unlikely you’ll get a lot of aid unless you have some other factor, like a sibling in college next year. </p>

<p>in our experience, duke is not “stingy” with finaid. so this type of need-based package is likely at pretty much any private school.</p>